Revelation Chapter 16‏‏‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back! During this week’s fellowship time, we’ll continue our study of Revelation.

Revelation Chapter 16
 
This week we will investigate chapter 16 in our journey of the end times.

As we discussed in our last study, chapter 16 introduces the seven bowls of wrath, God’s final judgment at the end of the 7 year Tribulation period. At the command of the Almighty Yahweh, the Seven Angels will go forth out of the temple to pour out their bowls on to the earth: 

And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth – Revelation 16:1

These final judgments will come in a rapid-fire, staccato fashion – each one stronger in fury and intensity. God is now bringing to an end the Great Tribulation by sending judgment upon the followers of the Antichrist. Concerning the Great Tribulation – also known as Jacob's Trouble (see Jeremiah 30:7), Jesus said:

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened – Matthew 24: 21-22

The Great Tribulation period will be so terrible that God will have to shorten it or else no human being will be able to endure it and survive.

 

Unlike the sounding of the Seven Trumpets, the outpouring of these Seven Bowls upon mankind will not be a warning call for repentance but a direct judgment of God's wrath. There is a parallel between the Seven Trumpets and the Seven Bowls. The Trumpets deal specifically with Israel for accepting a seven-year covenant to be made by Antichrist. The sounding of the Seven Trumpets is a warning call to get Israel to repent and also a warning to the world of the impending evil and judgment to come. The events that will take place at the sounding of the Seven Trumpets will be localized in the “third part” of the earth which is the geographical area of the Middle East and the European countries. On the other hand, the outpouring of the Seven Bowls will deal with corrupt mankind as a whole – especially those who will side with the Beast and its Image.

 

The First Bowl Judgment:

So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image – Revelation 16:2

The expression “foul and loathsome” also translates as “bad and evil.” By the time God's indignation is poured out upon the earth, mankind will have become very corrupt. 

For those whose spirit, soul and body are one with the adversary of God and who worship the religious system and its image, God will punish them with a “foul and loathsome” affliction that cannot and will not be healed.

 

The Second Bowl Judgment:

Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died – Revelation 16:3

When the Second Bowl is poured out, all the seas on earth – salt water – will be affected. Mankind in general will be judged and made to suffer the great and terrible (yet glorious) wrath of the Omnipotent God. The Lord is showing mankind the sinful corruption within them and that He hates corruption. Corruption is evil and spreads like cancer.

When LIFE is rejected, CORRUPTION sets in and DEATH is the result! The wrath of God will be felt the world over as this corruption kills all creatures that come into contact with the “blood as of a dead man” in the sea.

The Third Bowl Judgment:

Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.” And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments – Revelation 16:4-7

When the Third Bowl is poured out on the fresh rivers and fountains of waters, “they became blood.” This is God's judgment on the wicked for shedding the innocent blood of His saints and prophets. He is returning to them blood for blood. This is a righteous judgment. It is as if God is saying, “You have killed My saints and My prophets and shed their blood; now drink it!”

Fresh water will be scarce in that hour and many will die for lack of it as the water of many rivers and fountains around the world will turn noxiously red.

The Fourth Bowl Judgment:

Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory – Revelation 16:8-9

When this Fourth Bowl is poured out God will cause the sun to burn hotter, thus scorching the inhabitants upon the earth with great heat. This is to “get the attention” of Israel to repent for her coldness toward the Word of Yahweh and for their making of a covenant with the Antichrist. However, as God's accumulated wrath continues to pour out, the glorious power of God's righteous judgment also increases in magnitude.

In this Fourth Bowl He increases the heat and the brightness of the sun by as much as seven-fold (see Isaiah30:26). Instead of repenting of their sins and giving glory to God, the wicked would revile God and continue to blaspheme His Holy Name.

The Fifth Bowl Judgment:

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds – Revelation 16:10-11

As the Lord pours out His Fifth Bowl upon “the throne of the beast” it will cause those who worship the beast – especially through the second half of Daniel's 70th Week (the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation) – to realize that their belief is fallacious. When it finally dawns on them that they have nothing spiritually tangible and beneficial under the dictatorial rule of this beastly system, those men and women who worship Antichrist will become disobedient and rebellious toward the him. They are the same people who will be judged with grievous sores and plagues under the first Four Bowls of God's wrath. And they will still be suffering the effects of these judgments even when the Fifth Bowl is poured out.

This shows the cumulative effects of the outpouring of the Bowls. Yes, the Antichrist will lose his grip and the whole beastly “kingdom became full of darkness“ as the wrath of God increases. There will be utter chaos and confusion around the world as God gets ready to destroy this Antichrist system and the Image of the Beast.

This is God giving Satan his due punishment by returning “darkness for darkness.”

The Sixth Bowl Judgment:

Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty – Revelation 16:12-14

The Euphrates river divides the Middle East from the Far East. It also serves as the border of the Old Roman Empire. Being 1,800 miles long, about 3,600 feet wide in some places and about 30 feet deep, it was practically impossible, in ancient days, to move an army across the waters quickly and safely. Of course, modern armies are not hindered by this great river of water or any difficulty created by natural topography around it. In a literal sense, the river Euphrates is actually drying up at this present time. As the protective layer of ozone, which blankets the earth, is broken down by chemical pollutions in the air, there are drastic changes in the atmosphere. Hence, rainfall is less abundant with each passing year. Also, in recent years, dams have been built on the upper part of this river near the mountains. Such action reduces the flow of water downstream.

Biblically speaking, the great river Euphrates simply symbolizes a hindrance to the power of the Far East coming into that region of the world. Of course, its drying up symbolizes that “the way of the kings from the east might be prepared” to engage the west and the rest of the world in the “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” – a great confrontation.

Unlike the “Holy Trinity” – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – which has the sharp two-edged sword of Truth and grace proceeding from their mouths, the “unholy (Satanic) trinity” – the dragon (Satan), his beast and his false prophet – has “unclean spirits like frogs” coming out of their mouths. Frogs generally look loathsome and repulsive. Even their guttural croak sounds unclean, offensive and ominous in the dark. 

The “three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon“ depicts the breath (spirit) and the speech of the “unholy trinity” which are of evil intents and influences. They are demonic spirits going forth to do false miracles. But these are not true miracles of healing the sick or raising the dead. These are false miracles which will bring about a concentration of powers and hosts of evil for a wicked purpose. Through these three great enemies of God the nations of the world will be deceived and drawn into the great battle to come. Nations that are at odds with one another will unite or align themselves together. The kings of the east, especially the communist nations which will not be much affected by the power of the Beast, his Image or his Mark, will join forces together.

A PROPHETIC WARNING!

Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame – Revelation 16:15

This warning is given to the people of God. The Mystery of both the First and the Second Advents of Christ are hidden from the eyes of the wise and the prudent. Assuredly, as Christ was revealed to a small group among the chosen people of Israel during His First Advent, so will Christ reveal Himself to a “little flock” among the Christian people prior to His Second Advent. Therefore, let him who has received the revelation of Jesus Christ “watch and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” for we are living in a generation of great spiritual darkness!

And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon – Revelation 16:16

Yes, the unclean spirits will gather the kings of the east for the final battle – the Battle of “Armageddon.” “Ar-Magedon” means “City of Slaughter” or “Har-Magedon” means “Hill of Slaughter.” The Battle of Armageddon will not be fought in a city or on a hill, but rather “by the waters of Megiddo” (see Judges.5:19) and “in the valley of Megiddo” (see Zechariah 12:11). These words characterize a great slaughter where blood will flow like waters in a great valley. The battlefield of Armageddon will cover an area spanning Megiddo on the north (see Zechariah 12:11) to Edom on the south (see Isaiah 34:5,6 & 63:1), a distance of 1,600 furlongs or about 200 miles and from the Mediterranean Sea on the west to the hills of Moab on the east, a distance of nearly 100 miles. It will embrace three important valleys — the Valley of Esdraelon (part and parcel of the Valley of Jezreel), the Valley of Megiddo (see Zechariah 12:11) and the Valley of Jehoshaphat (see Joel 3:2,12). And at the center of the entire “war zone” will be the City of Jerusalem (see Zechariah.14:1,2).

The Seventh Bowl Judgment:

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” – Revelation 16:17

“It is done!” All the plagues have been poured out - The end has come!

The final effects of the Bowls will be felt after the last one is poured out and heightening God's judgment on the Antichrist and all powers that withstand God's plan concerning His kingdom. “It is done!” expresses the comprehensiveness and the finality of God's judgment, fulfilling the words of Hebrews:

Whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain – Hebrews 12:26-27

Once again John saw much excitement in Heaven and on earth:

And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth – Revelation 16:18

A great earthquake – an earthquake that mankind have never experienced before – strikes the earth, dividing the great city:

Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath – Revelation 16:19

The “great city” is Jerusalem. God will shake this city and cause some wreckage but it will not fall. The cities of those nations around the world, which are in league with the Babylonian system, will fall from the effects of this “great earthquake.” They will lay in ruins. The divine intent is to make Babylon drink “the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” The judgment of Babylon is described in greater detail in the subsequent visions to the Apostle John later in Revelation chapters 17 and 18.

At last, this precious earth has travailed long enough:

Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great – Revelation 16:20-21

Prodigious hailstones – “the weight of a talent” – weighing about sixty times heavier than those known to men, will strike the earth causing severe destruction in their paths. Being unrepentant, “Men blasphemed God” with their last breath. With a great and powerful earthquake that mankind has never experienced before, our Lord Jesus Christ will reshape the earth – as mountains fall down and islands disappear! With that final blow, He will bring in a new age, the 1000-Year Millennial Kingdom, where He will be the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

What we see here is God's wrath and it will not stop until He has raised the Godly dead who died as martyrs during the Great Tribulation. Then He will judge the living wicked persons of the earth, and cleanse the earth for the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Day of the Lord is quickly approaching.

Time is running out...

 

After the Seven Bowl Judgments of God are complete – it is done and there is no more wrath...

With this information as a foundation for your studies, please read through Chapter 16 of Revelation.

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate chapter 17 of Revelation…

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><